SRINAGAR:  Imams and management committees of various mosques in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir have joined the government’s “war on drugs”, using their religious platform to create awareness against drug abuse, officials said on Thursday.

“In a significant community-driven initiative against the drug menace, mosques across Anantnag have extended full support to the ongoing efforts of the police in combating drug abuse and illegal narcotic cultivation,” a police official said.

During congregational gatherings and through loudspeaker announcements, imams and mosque committees appealed to the public to actively participate in the “war against drugs” and refrain from engaging in or supporting any form of illegal crop cultivation, particularly narcotic substances such as cannabis and opium poppy, he said.